Always out of cat litter

[abbi]

Its hard for me to get cat litter as its real heavy and I have to take it on the bus and then down a bunch of stairs. It seems like it runs out once a week, a container I buy in it, that is. I clean the box once a week completley. I use  a few inches up to the suggested amount, I use baking soda as well quite a bit, and I scoop out well, as I can't smell very well so want to make sure its not too bad for the cat. I use clumping, so idk why I use up so much. My cat poos about once a day, and pees anywhere from 3-5 times a day.Any suggestions?

 

[Willowy]

You don't have to change it completely every week as long as you scoop it often. Every 2 weeks should be absolutely fine, 3-4 weeks should be OK too, as long as you're using a decent litter. Some people say every 6-8 weeks but if your sense of smell isn't great you probably don't want to go too long, otherwise I'd say to only change it when you can still smell it after scooping. So start with changing it every 2 weeks and see how that goes, if everything seems fine you could go to 3-4 weeks. That's the point of clumping litter---if you take all the nasty bits out it should stay fresh for a nice long time.

 

[lokhismom]

Agree you really don't have to dump the whole box weekly if you're using clumping litter.   Yikes thats such a waste.     Honestly, I only completely dump and bleach my box a few times a year.   I scoop the box a few times a day and as the litter box becomes empty I add more.  

I think I do a good job of keeping it clean and there's no litter box smell in my apartment. 

 

[detmut]

what litter do you use? how many boxes? i have 2 disposable litter boxes with dr elseys precious cat ultra shipped from amazon. i throw out 1 box every 2 months, so each box lasts 4 months. 

 

[abbi]

Thanks guys for answering. It seems like I go through a new box a week, (last box was about 1.5 weeks ago, 25 lb. clumping) but I scoop it out everyday, several times a day, so I'm just wondering why it goes so fast. As far as I can tell, shes not haveing any problems peeing too much or too little, but I'm new to all of this. I only dump it all out when it gets low, like half an inch and full of small clumped bits. I've tried a variety of things, using less, using more, using baking soda(I use that anyways), topping off when scooping. Its just so heavy and expensive you know?

 

[jcat]

I agree that you can try lengthening the intervals between complete changes. The finer grained the litter, the longer you can use it, too. I do a complete change every 3-4 weeks, but dump the sifted litter into a huge flower pot and (steam) clean the box every week before putting the litter back in.

Mogli goes through a 33 lb. bag of litter a month, on average. He has huge "wets" in comparison to our last cat.

Would ordering online be an option for you?

 

[chromium blues]

People used shredded newspaper for ages and ages. As long as your cat will use it and you're prepared to do a bit more work cleaning, it could be an option.

 

[rubysmama]

I have 1 cat and 2 litter boxes.  I use Purina Maxx clumping kitty litter and a 7 KG (15 LB) container lasts at least a month (I'll have to keep track next time I start a new container)

There are usually 2 or 3 wet clumps and 2 solid clumps a day.  I almost never totally change the litter, just keep adding more when it gets low.   I also use litter box wipes a couple times a week (more if required)  to clean any residue that sticks to the bottom or sides of the box.

 

[desigirlmonica]

When I use clumping litter I just scooo till its gone. Ive been using that arm n hammer natural litter with wood shavings for bedding and I dump that out every other day. Its cheap though which is why I use it.

 

[cocheezie]

Does your cat drink a lot? Are the pee clumps really big? Grapefruit size?

An option would be to enlist a friend who has a car and buy a number of boxes at once. Or a taxi. One taxi fare and 6 boxes would be about the same as bus fare once a week.

 

[pinkdagger]

Agreed, call a cab or rope in a friend with a car. What can also be helpful is a dolly. I often borrow my brother's foldable one so it's easy to carry before trips, and easy to bring big things home after trips, whether you have a vehicle or not.

 

[detmut]

have you tried any of the "lightweight" litters, such as Tidy Cats or Fresh Step? i haven't tried them but maybe somebody else has. 

 

[abbi]

I am not a fan of Tidy Cats, it doesn't clump well. Her pee is pretty large sized at times. I scoop it out till its low, then I clean out the plastic container, which is often. It doesn't matter what size box I buy, I still go through about the same speed. I do like the fine clumping stuff but that seems to go really fast.  A taxi is so expensive and so is shipping up to Alaska, but I have tried all those different things I'm thinking of trying Sweat Scoop or Worlds Best, I heard its not as heavy and comes in larger amounts and is pretty good supposedly. We'll see. Just wish I knew what I was doing wrong..

 

[momto3cats]

Are you not topping it up after you scoop? Also, are you using a very large box? Bigger boxes obviously take more litter to fill them. 

I used to have a huge box for 3 cats to share, and I would fill it with 40 lbs. of clumping litter to start with, then add a bit more every other day or so to keep the level the same. I only allowed it to get low when I thought the box needed to be emptied and cleaned out - if it was starting to smell despite daily scooping or was just looking grungy. This only happened a few times a year.

Right now I have a standard size "large" box but not a huge one, and only one cat uses it. It takes about 20 lbs to fill it a few inches deep, and again, I top up as needed to keep the level the same.

I also have a Breeze system, much lighter and easier to maintain, which only one of my cats uses. It still helps tremendously with the problem of carrying all those heavy boxes of litter. Now I only need half as much.

 

[misterwhiskers]

Do you have one of those little carts on wheels, or even a heavy duty canvas laundry tote on wheels? I have a couple, and I'm in your shoes. Sucks to drag litter on a bus and up stairs, so I got a heavy duty canvas tote on wheels from Whole Foods. Can't afford to shop there but the tote is great. I like Fresh n Light cat litter but bought Tidy Cat a few weeks ago. Meh. Does clump ok. Verry light!! Tracks all over. It's like made with styrofoam (really). Very easy to clean box. But too expensive. I use pan liners and clean whole thing once a month, cleaning the clumps daily.

 

[mservant]

Unfortunate that shipping costs rule out on line ordering as that made a huge difference for me.  Don't think I could even lift one bag of Mouse's clumping up the stair to my apartment!   The trolley sounds like a good idea as long as wheels and frame are strong enough.

The shape and size of tray does make a huge difference, as does the amount your cat pees.  My current boy definitely processes more water than my girls did both put together.  He likes his littler clean and I don't blame him.  I need to top up every few days as the clumps are large.  As it is I have a tray with a rounded base he can trample about in  and dig in and a high rim to catch any pee that sprays up a bit.   The rounded base makes a huge difference to the amount of litter needed to fill the tray to a good depth.   If I had a big, flat tray it would take at least  half a bag of Tigerino unscented clay each time I completely topped up to a decent depth for how Mouse likes to dig, and it would need to be kept deep so the bottom of the tray didn't get really nasty.  I think it would about double the quantity we get through.    Just now we get through about 10 kilos a month.

If you clean out completely with the last bit because the smell is starting to hold in the litter I would try a different kind as that suggests the clumps are breaking up either before or during scooping.

 

[abbi]

Great suggestions everyone! I only pour a little in at a time, and I have two litter boxes for her, makes cleaning easier LOL!  I think they might be a bit small as she knocks some out when she "plays" in it(its serious business, she gets on me when I refer to anything she does as "playing).  I have someone that delivers groceries, and I think I'll have them get a bigger amount at a time, I just got some today, so we are all good in that department. I have seen those little carts on the bus and have thought of getting one too! 

 

[bonepicker]

I dump twice a year have two cats and three boxes. I use fresh step extreme clumping multi Cat in a box. No smell ever, remove clumps twice a day.

 

[detmut]

well, according to the Amazon website, they will ship for free to all 50 states with $35 or more order. Dr. Elseys Precious Cat Ultra 40 pound bag is $17.49. 


http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/custo...F8&pop-up=1&nodeId=527692&tag=&tag=thecatsite

http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=201117690&tag=&tag=thecatsite

 

[GoldyCat]

Great suggestions everyone! I only pour a little in at a time, and I have two litter boxes for her, makes cleaning easier LOL!  I think they might be a bit small as she knocks some out when she "plays" in it(its serious business, she gets on me when I refer to anything she does as "playing).  I have someone that delivers groceries, and I think I'll have them get a bigger amount at a time, I just got some today, so we are all good in that department. I have seen those little carts on the bus and have thought of getting one too! 

Have you tried putting more litter in the box? I keep mine 4"-5" deep. That way the pee clumps in the litter before it ever reaches the bottom of the box. When the litter gets too low I find the clumps stick to the bottom and tend to break in to little bits when I try to scrape them off. I actually use less litter in the long run when I keep the level up.